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| With such amazing parents, this kid is going to kick some serious butt someday. |
Tara, a family friend, and her husband Zach are my
favorite philanthropic duo. Even as brand new parents, they are changing the
lives of children and families both domestically and internationally. Tara is a
teacher at the Monarch School in San Diego, serving students impacted by
homelessness. Zach is the Movement Director for Invisible Children, the
organization behind the viral video KONY
2012. (If you haven’t seen it, you must live under a rock!) I had the opportunity to interview Tara (thank you!) and
couldn't wait to share her insights on philanthropy and her thoughts on what's
important in life. Click to check out this post to learn about Tara and Zach's
interesting career paths, the organizations they work for and her definition of
philanthropy. She's a smart lady and one I admire greatly.
Name: Tara and Zach Barrows
Age: 30 and 31
Tara:
I originally went to school for radio broadcasting thinking I
wanted to work in the music industry. In college, I worked for my school's radio
station in Promotions. I really enjoyed that. However, after graduating, I
quickly learned that jobs were hard-to-find and the industry was rapidly moving
towards a much more corporate model and that didn't really appeal to me. But,
luckily, with my experience in Promotions, I was able to land a job with the
American Cancer Society as a temporary Recruiter for their Making Strides
Against Breast Cancer walk. This position launched my career in the nonprofit sector. I
then went on to work in Development for a small private school for kids with
special needs in Hanover, Massachusetts.
The thing with entry-level Development work is that you're doing
the same kind of entry-level work as your friends in the for-profit sector, but
you're getting paid pennies. I knew the work I was doing was making a
difference for kids, but I didn't feel part of it. There was no connection. The
job was kind of boring. So I went back to school for teaching. I was placed in Brockton, Massachusetts for my student
teaching. That was the first time I ever met a child who was homeless. She was
eight years old.
In the summer of 2007, I had the opportunity to travel to northern
Uganda. That was the first time I had ever witnessed abject poverty. It forced
me to think very critically about charity, power, and privilege. Seeing
what the long-term impact of colonialism and a lack of resources can do to a
region is pretty devastating. But, seeing the resiliency and ingenuity of
people, despite living in dire circumstances, is awesome. I left Africa with a great sense of pride in my new
profession as an educator because I felt stronger than ever that education is
the best way to overcome poverty and injustice.
Zach:
Meanwhile, my husband Zach's experience went the other way. He
went to school to be a history teacher. He graduated and taught high school for
four years. We went to Uganda with the organization
Invisible Children (IC) together in 2007 because Zach's students
raised a ton of money to help them rebuild schools that were destroyed by the
rebel group, the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA.) When we returned from our trip Zach was spinning
with ideas on how Invisible Children could grow and improve their Schools for
Schools program. He approached them about a job and was hired originally as
their Education Manager. He eventually became the
Movement Director, which meant his job was to oversee the tours that go out on
the road to schools as well as various other awareness initiatives here in the
US.
A little bit about Invisible Children:
IC was founded in 2003 by three filmmakers in their early 20s.
The group that started IC had no experience in the nonprofit sector. It was
truly a grassroots organization that sprung from three guys witnessing the
aftermath of a 20 year rebel war in northern Uganda and wanting to do something
about it. They learned quickly that the best way to help is to partner with
local leaders. Their Ugandan Country Director identified the greatest
need to be education. Since the LRA abducts and forces
children to be soldiers and sex slaves, the war took a real toll on the youth
of northern Uganda. IC created a mentoring program and funded the rebuild of
numerous schools. As the rebel war spread into
various other countries in central Africa, the need to stop Joseph Kony's LRA
and their reign of terror seemed more pertinent than ever. So in their push to
make Joseph Kony a household name with their viral video KONY 21012, Invisible
Children became one too. Now with the exposure they have garnered over the
past year, IC is in a position to continue to evolve, innovate, and carry out
the amazing work that they do.
IC fundraises in a really unique way. Unlike the traditional
model of development where most American nonprofits rely on grants and
large-scale events, IC's fundraising dollars come mostly from small
donations from American high school and college students. For the past 10
years, IC has sent teams of volunteers out on the road to show their films at
high schools, colleges and places of worship. The sale of T-shirts and
other merchandise help to raise money for schools and other programs in northern
Uganda. This is the first season in 10 years that IC hasn't had a team of roadies out showing their films in the US. With this
change, Zach's job is evolving yet again. He is currently part of the team
preparing and planning for what is to come next at IC. It is all very
exciting!
Tara:
Invisible Children brought us out to San Diego. At the
time, I didn't have a California teaching credential. So I started looking for
jobs in the nonprofit sector. That's how I found Monarch School.
Monarch is a unique school that exclusively serves students
impacted by homelessness in grades K-12. The school is a public/private
partnership. The San Diego County office of education funds the teachers,
textbooks, and basic school necessities while the Monarch School Project (a
501c3 charity) provides additional services such as access to clothing, food,
health care, tutoring and extracurricular activities. It is the only
public school of its kind in the nation. I originally went to work for the
Monarch School Project as their Volunteer Coordinator. I got to oversee their
tutoring program and help build partnerships between the community and the
school. Eventually a teaching position opened up just in time for me to finish
up all of my California teaching credential requirements. Now I teach second
and third grade. I can't imagine a more rewarding and fun job. My students are
impacted by homelessness, but that does not define them. They are just as
smart and capable as students at any other school, however they often need
access to resources beyond the scope of what a traditional school can provide.
I feel strongly that the public-private partnership model of the Monarch
school is the best way for a community to serve its most vulnerable student
population. It will take changes in legislation and a whole a lot of
fundraising, but the dream is that someday there will be a Monarch in every
city in the US.
Zach and I are lucky to have such cool jobs that directly
impact lives both here in the US and in the developing world, as we both feel
strongly that where you live shouldn't determine if you live and have the
opportunity to thrive. But I always say that you don't have to work in the
non-profit sector to make a difference in the world. I believe fully that the
world is better off when people find what it is they are best at and give it
everything they have, whether that's working with people, crunching numbers,
fixing cars, painting, or writing code. Whatever it is, if it inspires you or
even if it just pays the bills but leaves you feeling fulfilled, you're
contributing to the greater good. And that's what is most important for
progress, innovation, and real change to occur. People are in a position to be
philanthropic-to help others in need and advance humanity-when their own basic
needs are taken care of and they've reached that self-actualizing tier of
Maslow's hierarchy (aka find their meaning in life.) So find what you love and
get after it!
